February 29, (THEWILL) – The Algeria Football Association announced on Thursday the appointment of Vladimir Petkovic as the new manager of the Algerian national football team.
The 60-year-old led the Swiss national side for seven years and guided them to the quarter-finals of Euro 2020, including a shock last-16 victory against the defending world champions France.
Petkovic managed Switzerland at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and two European Championships before a short spell with French Ligue 1 club Bordeaux earlier this year.
The Bosnian-born coach takes charge of an Algerian team currently top of their African World Cup qualifying group with six points from two games, ahead of Botswana, Guinea, Uganda, Mozambique and Somalia.
The new Algeria boss replaces Djamel Belmadi, who departed in January on the back of a disappointing Africa Cup of Nations campaign that saw the two-time continental champions fail to progress from the initial group stage. Belmadi has been in charge since 2018 and led Algeria to success at AFCON 2019 in Egypt.
Petkovic will be tasked with ensuring qualification for the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States. His first competitive match in charge comes against Guinea in June, with Algeria looking to maintain their 100% record in qualifying so far.
The 60-year-old has pedigree at the international level and Algeria will hope his appointment can lift the national team following recent disappointment.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
